Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 663, the Native American Child Protection Act. American Indian and Alaska Native children have the highest rate of child abuse in the United States, at a rate of 15 cases for every 1,000 children. This can have devastating impacts on a child's cognitive, emotional, and neurological development, and can last them well into adulthood and even their entire life. On top of this crisis, the Supreme Court recently heard a case attempting to gut the Indian Child Welfare Act, which protects the rights of Native children and families. That is why passing the Native American Child Protection Act today is so timely. My bipartisan bill reauthorizes and revises programs that give Tribes the tools to treat, prevent, investigate, and prosecute child abuse and family violence involving Native American children. The programs in this bill were originally led by another Arizonian back in 1990 through John McCain's Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act. That bill was part of a promise to answer for the tragic abuse that happened at federally run Native American boarding schools, but the programs had never been fully funded, were never authorized, and eventually expired. This is a failure by the Federal Government and a continuation of centuries of broken promises. By passing H.R. 663, we will take a step to right this wrong.…”